Older Australia at a glance: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Monday, 29 May 2017

What does the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) release say about older Australians?

In 2016, approximately 3.7 million Australians (15% of Australia's total projected population of 24.3 million) are aged 65 or older. The older Australian population is growing. The proportion of older Australians is expected to grow—to 22% (8.7 million) by 2056 and to 24% (12.8 million) by 2096.

Most older Australians are not using aged care services. During 2014–15, 2 in 3 (67%) older Australians (2.4 million) did not use aged care services.

Most older Australians have healthy lifestyles. In 2014–15, most people aged 65 and over reported very low levels of smoking (93% not current smokers), 41% reported being sufficiently active during the preceding week, and more than half (51%) were fully vaccinated.

More older Australians are engaged in the workforce. In 2015, 453,000 people aged 65 and over (13% of older Australians) were engaged in paid employment — up from 5% in 1990.